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54-491: The 1944 Butler Education Act and the similar Education (Northern Ireland) Act 1947 radically overhauled education in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. For the first time, free secondary education became a universally provided right. This was a part of the major shake-up of government welfare in the wake of the 1942 Beveridge report . There followed three categories of state-run secondary schools . The report found that

108-422: A "direct grant" from central government, or be "grant-aided" by their local authority. By 1932 there were 240 secondary schools receiving a direct grant, compared with 1138 aided by local authorities. Although this division was intended purely as an administrative convenience, local authorities gradually gained more influence over the schools they aided, in part because of the schools' weak financial position during

162-561: A broader range. These included the 23 schools of the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now the Girls' Day School Trust ). During the post-War period, many parts of the world moved from selective education to comprehensive schools catering for children of all abilities. Dissatisfaction with the Tripartite System grew during the 1950s, with concern over the harsh division of the school population at

216-455: A campaign by parents. Elsewhere the plans proceeded over local objections, with schools closing or becoming comprehensive schools or sixth form colleges , often by merging with other schools. Dr Williams School , a small school for girls in Dolgellau , northwest Wales, also closed at this time. The remaining schools, including all of the large secular ones, became independent when their grant

270-572: A further 25% of places to be paid for by the LEA if required. The remaining ("residuary") places would attract fees, but no child would be admitted unless they had achieved the required standard in the eleven plus. The schools would be inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools , would have one third of their governing bodies appointed by the LEA, and would require the approval of the Secretary of State to raise fees or carry out building work. The scheme

324-487: A measure that was only followed through by a few LEAs such as the Cambridgeshire Village Colleges , Leicestershire Community Colleges and Coventry , Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire community schools. Anglican schools were continued, but brought under increased state funding and control. Every state-funded school was required to begin the day with a nondenominational religious prayer. This clause

378-591: A more equitable funding system to localities and to different school sectors. The act renamed the Board of Education as the Ministry of Education , giving it greater powers and a bigger budget. While defining the school leaving age as 15, it granted the government the power to raise the age to 16 "as soon as the Minister is satisfied that it has become practicable", though the change was not implemented until 1973. It also brought in

432-628: A new accommodation with the voluntary schools. In response, the Headmasters' Conference persuaded the President of the Board of Education, R.A. Butler , to establish a commission under Lord Fleming in July 1942 "to consider means whereby the association between the Public Schools ... and the general education system of the country could be developed and extended". The Education Act 1944 aimed to introduce

486-446: A new system for setting teacher salaries. One of the results of the act was to increase the openness of secondary schools to girls and the working class , educating and mobilising them. Another result was that the percentage of children attending higher education tripled from 1% to 3%. The act provided both for nursery schools and Further Education programmes through community colleges, offering education for both children and adults,

540-552: A quarter of them. The second group consisted of 30 schools (23 for boys and 7 for girls) with a significant proportion (over 25%) of boarders. Boarders made up the majority of pupils at 15 schools (all but one for boys), including five of the six Methodist schools. Boarding schools tended to be smaller and less academically selective than other direct grant schools, and to take a larger proportion of fee-paying pupils. They also tended to be more socially selective, with nearly three quarters of their pupils having fathers in management or

594-490: A reorganisation of their schools. The Circular also requested consultation between LEAs and direct grant schools on their participation in a comprehensive system. For this reason, direct grant schools were excluded from consideration by the Public Schools Commission set up in 1965, even though 152 of them would otherwise have fallen within its remit. There was little progress in the local negotiations proposed in

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648-450: A small number of Roman Catholic former direct grant schools entered the state sector as grant-maintained schools . A few secular schools have subsequently become academies . Those that remain independent are typically highly selective, and have strong academic reputations. In 2001, they included 61 of the 100 highest performing independent day schools. No longer a bridge between state and private sectors, these schools have become part of

702-584: A universal system of secondary education for England and Wales . Under the Tripartite System , there were to be three types of schools, with pupils sitting an eleven plus exam to determine which type of school they would be sent to. The most academic tier would be the grammar school , and the Act revised the terms of the direct grant to operate alongside LEA-maintained grammar schools, many of which were former LEA-aided schools. The latter schools, unable to cope with

756-474: The Education (Administrative Provisions) Act 1907 , secondary schools in receipt of grant were required to admit a specified proportion of their intake, usually 25%, free of charge from state elementary schools. Suitable pupils were selected using a scholarship examination. Circular 1381, a directive issued by the Board of Education in 1926, required that schools choose a single source of grant: they could receive

810-490: The Education Act 1902 gave counties and county boroughs responsibility for schools, designating them as local education authorities (LEAs). Secondary schools controlled by voluntary bodies could receive a grant from either the Board of Education or their local authority, or both. In return they were required to meet the Board's regulations, and were subject to the same system of inspections as state-funded schools. Under

864-545: The Girls' Public Day School Company (later Trust), set up to provide an affordable academic education for girls, which had established 32 schools by 1894. In the latter part of the century, many of the less wealthy schools received annual grants from the Department of Science and Art and from their county councils. The grant system was restructured when the Board of Education was created in 1901 to fund early secondary schools, and

918-477: The Great Depression . The Depression and the falling birth rate in the pre-war years had also weakened independent schools and schools receiving the direct grant. At the same time, the state-funded sector had grown to the point where universal secondary education seemed achievable, and changes in society had made the idea more popular. Proposals were made for a reorganisation of the maintained sector, including

972-637: The Headmaster's Conference . The archetype of the direct grant grammar school, was the largest, The Manchester Grammar School , whose High Master from 1945 to 1962, Eric James (elevated to the peerage in 1959), was an outspoken advocate of the "meritocracy". In 1968 the school sent 77% of its boys on to university, a rate surpassed only by the independent Winchester College . Close behind were such schools as Bradford Grammar School , Leeds Grammar School , Haberdashers' Aske's School and Latymer Upper School . A large girls' school of similar academic attainment

1026-568: The President of the Board of Education , R. A. Butler . Historians consider it a "triumph for progressive reform," and it became a core element of the post-war consensus supported by all major parties. The Act was repealed in steps with the last parts repealed in 1996. The basis of the Education Act 1944 was a memorandum entitled Education After the War (commonly referred to as the "Green Book") which

1080-461: The 1944 act, provided free school milk to all children under 18 in maintained schools from August 1946. In 1968 Edward Short , the Labour Secretary of State for Education and Science , withdrew free milk from secondary schools for children over eleven. His successor, Conservative Margaret Thatcher withdrew free school milk from children over seven in 1971, earning her the nickname "Thatcher,

1134-480: The Anglican church schools became voluntary aided which entitled them to enhanced state subsidies whilst retaining autonomy over admissions, curriculum and teacher appointments; Roman Catholic schools also chose this option. The legislation was enacted in 1944, but its changes were designed to take effect after the war, thus allowing for additional pressure groups to have their influence. Paul Addison argues that in

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1188-706: The Circular. Two Catholic girls' schools, St Anne's Convent School , Southampton and St Anthony's School , Sunderland, converted to a fully comprehensive intake, expanding to over 1000 pupils each. A few others proposed minor adjustments, but the vast majority were unchanged. In view of this lack of progress, the Public Schools Commission was asked in October 1967 to add direct grant schools to its investigation. The commission, now chaired by David Donnison, issued its second report in 1970, concluding that "Grammar schools of

1242-639: The Conservative Education Secretary, raised the level of grant, which had been lowered by the Labour government. Labour returned to power in 1974 and enacted the Direct Grant Grammar Schools (Cessation of Grant) Regulations 1975, which required schools to choose whether to become LEA-maintained comprehensive schools or independent schools without grant. Of the 174 remaining direct grant grammar schools, 51 (two Church of England and

1296-862: The Direct Grant Scheme, the Act also made provision for LEAs to fund places at independent schools in areas where there was a shortage of appropriate places in maintained schools. For example, there might be a lack of selective places, or of selective places in Roman Catholic schools. In the late 1960s, 56 independent schools had over 25% of their places funded by LEAs in this way, with seven of them over 75% LEA-funded. In 1966, when direct grant schools were at their height, they educated 3.1% of secondary pupils across England and Wales, while independent schools accounted for 7.1%. For A-level students, these proportions rose to 6.2% and 14.7% respectively. Before Culford School became coeducational in 1972, all but 2 of

1350-661: The Milk Snatcher". In the April 1978 budget, the Labour Government was able to use an EEC subsidy on milk to restore free school milk to children aged between 7 and 11. Direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while

1404-522: The Raising of the School-Leaving Age) a building programme to provide 'hut'-style accommodation to meet the additional educational demand. The Education Act 1944 made it a duty of local education authorities to provide school meals and milk. The authority could remit the charge for the meal in cases of hardship. The Provision of Free Milk Regulations 1946 ( SR&O 1946 /1293), made under section 49 of

1458-476: The act as an expression of " One Nation Conservatism " in the tradition attributed to Disraeli , which called for paternalism by the upper class towards the working class. Butler later wrote in his 1971 memoirs that the 1944 act, like those of 1870, 1902 and 1918, did not “sweep the board clean” but rather “established a financial framework” within which local authorities could conduct such policies as were appropriate for their region. The name “elementary school”

1512-589: The age of 11, and the loss to the economy of the "submerged three-quarters" in secondary modern schools . Experiments with comprehensive schools spread from Anglesey to the Midlands and Yorkshire . In 1964, a Labour government was elected promising "to reorganise the State secondary schools on comprehensive lines". In the following year, the Department of Education and Science distributed Circular 10/65 , requesting that Local Education Authorities prepare plans for such

1566-653: The average proportion was 86%. They also tended to be more socially mixed, with 37% of their pupils from managerial and professional homes and 16% children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. These schools were thus similar to the LEA-maintained Roman Catholic grammar schools, which they outnumbered. Lacking endowments and having lower fee income, they were less financially secure than other direct grant grammars. The fourth group were non-denominational local grammar schools, often with an intake more able on average than in maintained grammar schools, but covering

1620-617: The costs of the reorganisation required by the 1944 Act, had been offered the status of voluntary controlled or voluntary aided schools , under which the state would pay all their running costs and all or most of their capital costs. They were thus integrated into the state system. The new direct grant scheme was a modification of proposals in the Fleming Report of 1944. A direct grant grammar school would provide 25% of its places free of charge to children who had spent at least 2 years in maintained primary schools, and would reserve at least

1674-513: The end, the act was widely praised by Conservatives because it honoured religion and social hierarchy, by Labour because it opened new opportunities for working class children, and by the general public because it ended the fees they had to pay for secondary education. State primary education had been free since the Education Act 1891 ; even after 1944 certain older grammar schools—the direct grant grammar schools —continued to charge fees but also admitted state pupils on scholarships. Butler designed

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1728-469: The meantime a range of other schools had appeared. After the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and mid-century Irish immigration, Catholic teaching orders from Ireland and mainland Europe began to establish their own grammar schools. New proprietary schools were established, initially as joint-stock companies , converting to charities if they were successful. One of the largest such companies was

1782-533: The most academic tier of the Tripartite System . They varied greatly in size and composition, but, on average, achieved higher academic results than either maintained grammar schools or private schools . State secondary education was reorganised on comprehensive lines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The direct grant was phased out from 1975 and the schools were required to choose between becoming maintained comprehensive schools or fully independent schools. Forty-five schools, almost all Roman Catholic , joined

1836-516: The other groups of schools. There was a great deal of variation between direct grant grammar schools. According to the Donnison Report (discussed in the next section), the schools were of four types, though the boundaries between them were not always clear-cut. Donnison called the first group "regional schools": large, highly academically selective day schools with large sixth forms, located near large cities, and mostly boys' schools belonging to

1890-452: The professions. The third group, Roman Catholic schools, made up nearly a third of the direct grant schools (19 for boys and 37 for girls). They were predominantly day schools, though 10 of them took a small proportion of boarders. Their fees were about 15% lower than other direct grant grammars, and they tended to take a much higher proportion of LEA-funded pupils. In 1968, 40 of these schools took over 80% of their pupils from their LEAs;

1944-444: The proportion also varied greatly between schools. Direct grant schools had similar teacher/pupil ratios to the maintained grammar schools, as their fees were regulated to match costs at the latter schools. The proportion of teachers with first and second class degrees was slightly lower than in their maintained counterparts. The principal difference from the maintained schools was greater freedom from LEA influence. Although there

1998-567: The remainder attracted fees, some paid by a Local Education Authority and some by the pupils' parents or guardians. On average, the schools received just over half of their income from the state. The status was introduced in England and Wales by the Education Act 1944 as a modification of an existing direct grant scheme to some long standing endowed grammar schools. There were 179 direct grant grammar schools, which, together with almost 1,300 grammar schools maintained by local authorities , formed

2052-423: The rest Catholic) applied to join the state sector, of which 46 were accepted. These schools had become dependent on state funding, and the move to comprehensive education was also supported by the Roman Catholic hierarchy, often over the objections of those connected with the schools. One school, St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent , was approved to join the state system, but became independent instead following

2106-414: The scheme, starting with Trinity School of John Whitgift , which became independent in 1968, but still had half its places funded by the LEA. It was followed in 1970 by Oakham School , which became co-educational in the following year, and Queen Victoria High School, which merged with The Cleveland School to form Teesside High School . A respite was provided in the early 1970s, when Margaret Thatcher ,

2160-564: The schools were single sex, with a slight majority of girls' schools. There were 56 Roman Catholic schools, 14 Church of England and 6 Methodist . Many of the schools were in the north of England, with 46 in the historic county of Lancashire (including Manchester) and 18 in the West Riding of Yorkshire , while there were only 7 in inner London and 4 in Wales. In 1961, an average of 59% of pupils at direct grant grammar schools were state-funded, but

2214-476: The start of that century, some boarding schools like Eton College and Winchester College thrived educating the sons of the aristocracy, but most endowed grammar schools were in decline, their classical curricula seen as irrelevant to the industrial age. These schools were reformed under the Endowed Schools Act 1869 , which also led to many endowments being diverted to the creation of girls' schools. In

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2268-421: The state system, while a few closed. The rest (including all the secular schools) became independent and mostly remain as highly selective independent schools. In the 19th century, few boys and very few girls in England and Wales received secondary education, which was typically available only from charity, endowed or private schools. During this time, secondary provision expanded and adjusted to growing demand. At

2322-467: The traditional kind cannot be combined with a comprehensive system of education: we must choose what we want. Fee-paying is not compatible with comprehensive education." They recommended that the schools choose between becoming voluntary aided comprehensives and full independence, but the Conservatives came to power before any action had been taken. Meanwhile, a trickle of schools had begun to leave

2376-496: The young people whose education it had considered should receive a greater share of the national resources devoted to education. The report uncovered serious examples of neglect. For example it found that some secondary moderns in slum areas of London had primary school furniture for fifteen-year-olds, and teachers changing as often as once a term. The report was however overshadowed by the Robbins Report on higher education, which

2430-433: Was North London Collegiate School , which had been founded in 1850 by Frances Buss . These schools achieved university admission rates that rivalled the older public schools , which in turn moved to raise their academic standards for admission, and to increase their focus of academic achievement. With their high profile, such schools formed the popular image of a direct grant grammar school, but they accounted for only about

2484-517: Was a desire to keep the churches involved in education but they could not afford to modernise without government help. By negotiation with the Archbishop of Canterbury , William Temple (1881-1944), and other religious leaders, a majority of the Anglican church schools became voluntary controlled and were effectively absorbed into the state system in return for funding. The act also encouraged non-sectarian religious teaching in secular schools. A third of

2538-405: Was abolished as implying that the poorer children who tended to attend such schools would receive an inferior education. The Act ended the traditional all-age (5-14) elementary sector, enforcing the division between primary (5–11 years old) and secondary (11–15 years old) education that many local authorities had already introduced. It abolished fees on parents for state secondary schools. It brought

2592-506: Was amended by the Education Reform Act 1988 , which specified that the act of worship should be of a 'broadly Christian nature' unless such a message was deemed to be inappropriate for a particular school or group of children. The amendment also specified that the act of worship could now take place in classes, rather than the previous system of conducting worship in assemblies. The act was supported by HORSA (Hutting Operation for

2646-603: Was attractive to most of the direct grant schools. Of the 231 secondary schools receiving direct grant in 1945, 196 applied to join the new scheme, with the rest becoming independent schools . In addition 31 grant-aided schools applied to join the scheme. Of these, 164 schools (including four formerly grant-aided schools) were accepted as direct grant grammar schools. The list was re-opened between 1957 and 1961, when 44 applications were received, of which 15 were accepted. There were therefore 179 direct grant grammar schools, alongside almost 1300 maintained grammar schools. Beside

2700-447: Was compiled by Board of Education officials and distributed to selected recipients in June 1941. The President of the Board of Education at that time was Butler's predecessor, Herwald Ramsbotham ; Butler succeeded him on 20 July 1941. The Green Book formed the basis of the 1943 White Paper , Educational Reconstruction which was itself used to formulate the 1944 act. The purpose of the act

2754-662: Was much variation, these schools as a group were middle-class institutions, with many tending to move closer to the independent schools in social composition. On average, three-quarters of pupils came from white-collar homes, including 60% with fathers in management or the professions, while only 7% were children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. On average, the intake of the schools was also more academically selective than either maintained grammar schools or independent schools. Their results were correspondingly high, with 60% of their pupils staying on to age 18 and 38% going on to university, significantly greater proportions than either of

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2808-792: Was phased out as the remaining state-funded pupils left. This coincided with the mid-1970s recession , a difficult time for independent schools but doubly so for the former direct grant schools, which had just lost 25–50% of their intake. Many local boys' schools became coeducational to replace the lost places. An echo of the direct grant, the Assisted Places scheme, was introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1981, lasting until 1997. Approximately two-thirds of these places were held at former direct grant grammar schools. The independent sector soon recovered, and prospered without competition from state grammar schools. From 1993

2862-498: Was published one week later and given more time for public debate. This article relating to education in the UK is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Butler Education Act The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6 . c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after

2916-516: Was to address the country's educational needs amid demands for social reform that had been an issue before the Second World War began. The act incorporated proposals developed by leading specialists in the 1920s and 1930s such as R. H. Tawney and William Henry Hadow . The text of the act was drafted by Board of Education officials including Griffiths G. Williams, William Cleary, H. B. Wallis, S. H. Wood, Robert S. Wood, and Maurice Holmes. There

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